Nearby Words

woe

[woh] Origin

woe

[woh]
noun
1.
grievous distress, affliction, or trouble: His woe was almost beyond description.
2.
an affliction: She suffered a fall, among her other woes.
interjection
3.
an exclamation of grief, distress, or lamentation.

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Woe is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English wo (interjection and noun), Old English (interjection) (compare wellaway); cognate with Dutch wee, German Weh, Old Norse vei, Latin vae


1. anguish, tribulation, trial, wretchedness, melancholy. See sorrow.


1. joy.

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World English Dictionary
woe (wəʊ)
 
n
1.  literary intense grief or misery
2.  (often plural) affliction or misfortune
3.  woe betide someone misfortune will befall someone: woe betide you if you arrive late
 
interj
4.  archaic Also: woe is me an exclamation of sorrow or distress
 
[Old English wā, wǣ; related to Old Saxon, Old High German wē, Old Norse vei, Gothic wai, Latin vae, Sanskrit uvē; see wail]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

woe
O.E. wa, a common exclamation of lament in many languages (cf. L. væ, Gk. oa, Ger. weh, Lettish wai, O.Ir. fe, Welsh gwae, Armenian vay). The noun is attested from c.1175, from the interjection.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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